Saturday, June 1, 2013

Index: The Comic Pusher Review of Naoki Urasawa's Pluto

The Run: Naoki Urasawa's Pluto

In The Run I review an entire run of a particular series. Pluto, published in 8 volumes in the United States by Viz, is Naoki Urasawa's masterful adaptation and expansion of Osamu Tezuka's Astro Boy. An astonishing original work in its own right, Pluto is a masterpiece and one of the finest comics ever produced. Below are links to my reviews of the individual volumes in the series, as well as my concluding analyses and essays on the work as a whole.

Pluto Volume 1: "Urasawa expands on Osamu Tezuka's original creations and crafts an original and mature story of startling power. Pluto is a riveting mystery of murder, horror and war, an exploration of
love, loss, and life, and a visionary work of science fiction that
utilizes futuristic set-pieces to movingly examine the very root of the
human condition... frankly one of the finest comics of the 21st century"

Pluto Volume 2:
"Again we see the world coming to terms with the the developing
intelligence around them and what that means for Robots and Humans. And
it is in Volume 2 that we begin to see the larger geopolitical
picture at play and the forces manipulating things from a distance."

Pluto Volume 3: "The
mysteries weaving throughout the series come into unexpected sharp
focus... The series' multiple identity as not just a mystery
and international thriller, but surprisingly scary work of horror also
come to the fore. There is plenty to fear, from the creepy abilities of
one subtly monstrous robot at the beck and call of a mysterious foe, to
grand shifting horrors beyond human and even robot understanding... Things are coming
into focus at the same time the lines blur even
more, the lines between guilt and innocence, beauty and horror, war and
peace. And we are given moments of beauty wrapped in
pain, and startling revelations that ask more questions than they
answer."

Pluto Volume 4: "The scenes that follow are pure moments of riveting suspense that drive
the story forward into amazing, nonstop action-packed set pieces. Naoki Urasawa and Takashi Nagasaki's
scripting and Urasawa's art evoke an astonishing economy of
storytelling, propelling the plot forward with an emotion and tension
that are rarely seen in comics of any stripe."

Pluto Volume 5: "The scripting continues to leave you breathless, as does the
astonishing art. From a robot compulsively washing its hands, unable to
clean the metaphorical blood on them, to a quiet dinner packed with
subtext, the quiet moments of pain and loss and grief which fill the
book are seismic. And amongst all the pain and sadness there is hope, bleeding in around
the edges. But things are darkest before the dawn and under gathering
storm clouds, we are still far from sunlight."

Pluto Volume 6:
"A tightly plotted thriller with equal parts explosive action and
riveting suspense-filled conversations. Urasawa continues to pull out a
virtuoso performance of comic
storytelling. Extraordinarily powerful and moving, this is a work of
art that says volumes about the human condition, one of the finest
accomplishments of the medium."

Pluto Volume 7:
"This is the weakest volume in the series, but even a weak turnout from
Urasawa is stronger than most comics. His and Nagasaki's writing is
just as sharp, his art no less emotive and powerful."

Pluto Volume 8: "In the end, the final battle becomes about overcoming nature, be it the
darkness that exists in all of us or the programming and orders given to
a tortured soul. Urasawa's art throughout this last volume is frankly
astonishing. His depictions of human emotion and suspenseful character
drama are matched by his world-shattering battle sequences, quiet
moments of pain and loss and explosive action. This is a story about the transformative power of loss. It is about the
darkest aspects of our nature that makes us human. It is about the evils
of war and the scars of war that echo down through the years. It is
about the subjective reality of memory. It is a story of evolution and
change and becoming human through trial and pain. And it is about the
power of love to break the cycle of hate, the beauty within to overcome
the darkness."